Do you loan fountain pens?

[TheNobleSavage]

Normally, most people are a bit uncomfortable about using not only my fountain pens but using fountain pens in general. I normally carry a pencil (Sheaffer Imperial Triumph or Parker 61 Flighter) or a ball point from one of my sets to offer them. If someone wants to try it out, I usually lend them the stiffest nib I have so they wont destroy the nib. Such as a vintage sheaffer crest with a conical triumph nib.

 

There are some who want to at least try a nice pen, so I give them a quick lesson and I watch their every move

 

Finally there are some who use fountain pens and I have no problem with them using it. There are about 4 or 5 people at work that know how to use fountain pens. My Dad, the one who got me hooked, is allowed to use any of my pens at any given time. He uses them religiously, so I have no worries!!

 

The main reason why I let people try out fountain pens is that I want to share with them the joy of writing with a REAL writing instrument. So maybe I can get a person to convert over to a fountain pen. 90% of the time, the people who use one of my pens really enjoys using them. After they get over the fear of destroying my pen by accident, they find them to be really comfortable to use and that their hands do not cramp.

 

My whole fountain pen fetish begain when someone was generous enough to take the time and show me how to use a fountain pen. From that point on, there was no turning back!!

 

TNS

[TheNobleSavage]

Hey Dennis,

 

Can I borrow your Parker Vacumatic?? Well, only after you disinfect it!!!

 

Those are some big nostrils you have Dennis!!! I really shouldnt talk because I can fit a Danitrio Genkai in each nostril!!!

 

Cheers

 

TNS

 

BTW I will not post a picture of that!!!

[sonia_simone]

BTW I will not post a picture of that!!!

I am relieved.

 

To turn away from nostrils and back to lending pens, a nice young man from Business Development just stopped by my office looking a little frantic. "Do you have a blue pen with actual inky ink?" I handed him the Alphaplus .5 mm stub loaded with Parker Washable Blue. (He has a meeting with me twice a week and has seen quite a variety of pens go through my hands.)

 

I watched him carefully, he did just fine. And his signature looks very good on that page.

[Ink Stained Wretch]

I can't resist the urge to spurt some grammar stuff.

 

<pedantry>

The word is lend not loan. Lend is the verb, loan is a noun. I know that hardly anyone gets this anymore to the degree that common usage has pretty much blurred the difference, but I had to do it.

</pedantry>

 

I chose the "ballpoint" option. People not infrequently want to borrow a pen from me, and they frequently want to do this while I have one of my Kaweco Sports out and in use. They expect me to hand them my fountain pen. Hah! At that point I whip a BIC on them and they'll settle for that or get lost. I carry the BIC in my pocket so it's always very easy to hand to someone.

 

Not everyone is pleased with this solution, but I figure that I'd prefer to have them displeased that I didn't lend them my fountain pen than to have me being displeased because they broke it!

[bernardo]

No way I let anyone use my FP's. I always carry a leather pouch with a FP, a rollerball, and a mechanical pencil. If somedoby needs a pen, I loan this person the rollerball, usually a Rotring or a Sheaffer.

 

There is a reason for keeping FP's off the hands of strangers: as time goes on, the nib of the FP acquires the shape that best suits YOUR handwriting, so, if someone else makes use of your pen, that could modify the delicate shaping of the nib, maybe producing some undesired effects, like scratching or so.

[Pen Nut]

Take my car

Borrow the Submariner

Take my wife to dinner

Have a drink of my Scotch whiskey

Use my Browning D5 for a round of skeet

 

TOUCH MY PENS OUR FRIENDSHIP ENDS !

[Waterman]

Hahahaha excellent rhyme, so if lets say my FP is already shaped to my desired writing angle and suddenly a friend of mine just takes it and uses it for like a few words, would that obstruct my nib in anyway or is that too short of a period to do any clear damage to the nib?

[bernardo]

if lets say my FP is already shaped to my desired writing angle and suddenly a friend of mine just takes it and uses it for like a few words, would that obstruct my nib in anyway or is that too short of a period to do any clear damage to the nib?

Well, it depends on the nib. Modern ones are usually very strong; I saw once a Pelikan nib suffer from the pressure of an inexperienced user, bend like a ruler, and then return to its original shape, totally undamaged. But if you do that to a vintage Sheaffer Feathertouch the effects could not be reversible.

 

My advice is: FP's are as personal as a toothbrush; don't loan them.

[Dillo]

Hi,

 

I normally keep a pen suited to the purpose of lending. Normally, it is a pen that writes really well and has a rather stiff nib. When someone wants to use it, I just lend it to them, but keep an eye on them to make sure they hold it properly.

 

Dillon

[aunt rebecca]

hi,

 

i have lovely pelikan ball point-- actually has a parker gel refill in it or i have a real fancy ball point pen that i offer. if they want to try a fountain pen i always demonstrate how to hold and write with the pen--and i never let them open the pen, since most will attempt to pull the cap off.

 

prior to carrying ball points, i use to say i had no pen that they could use unless they wanted a lesson on fountain pen use.

 

:ltcapd: :ltcapd: :ltcapd: :ltcapd:

 

:roflmho: :roflmho: :roflmho: :roflmho:

 

:bunny1: :bunny1: :bunny1: :bunny1: :bunny1: :bunny1: :bunny1: :bunny1: :bunny1: :bunny1:

[alvarez57]

My main reason for loaning them out: If we don't let people try we won't convert them to FP users.

good point, but most of them don't even care.

 

I just say no if I don't have a spare.

 

 

"Before you say yes, you have to learn to say no".

Edited January 6, 2007 by alvarez57